SABMiller Taps MEC for European Consolidation

The WPP media network will now handle the brewer’s media

SABMiller is consolidating its $100 million of European media planning and buying business at MEC, concluding a roster agency review that began[1] in the first quarter.

The WPP media network will now handle the brewer’s media in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and Slovakia, where MEC was the incumbent. The account had been handled by agencies that include Interpublic’s Initiative, Havas’ MPG Media Contacts, Aegis Group’s Carat and MEC corporate sibling MediaCom.

In a statement[2], Stefan Homeister, SABmiller Europe marketing and sales director, said: “Thanks to this move, we will extract more value from our media investment whilst enhancing the effectiveness of our communication planning and our ability to transfer knowledge.”